New rules will let millions of Americans know where more of their food comes from. The law is known as COOL—Country of Origin Labeling.
American Congress first passed the law in 2002. Stores have had to label seafood by country of origin since 2005. But industry pressure delayed other requirements until last week.
Products that must now be labeled include fresh fruits and vegetables, muscle meats and some kinds of nuts. But the rules are complex, and many foods are excluded. For example, organ meats are free to be labeled. So are processed foods, including cooked or smoked food.
The United States has imported more and more food in recent years to save money and expand choices. Country-of-origin labeling has become more common lately but has still been limited in many stores.
Food safety is one reason why some shoppers pay close attention to where foods came from. For example, when a large number of people recently got sick from salmonella(沙门菌病), officials blamed peppers from Mexico. Yet the last big food scare involved spinach (菠菜) grown in California. But labeling is also a way for people to know they are getting what they want. Some want to buy local foods or foods from a particular country.
The country-of-origin labeling law gives stores 30 days to correct any violations that are found. Stores and suppliers that are found to be deliberately violating the law could be fined 1000 dollars per violation. Federal inspectors are not to take action to enforce the law for six months to give time for an education campaign.
Some food safety activists say they are generally pleased with the law. They call it a good step that will give people more useful information.
1. What’s the regulation in the new rules?
A. Stores have to label food by its producing date from now on.
B. The country-of-origin labeling has to be marked on more food.
C. Stores have to label seafood by country of origin.
D. Labeling of food should include more useful information.
2. Why has more and more food been imported to the United States in recent years?
A. Because it is economical and provides people with more choices.
B. Because the United States is short of food supply.
C. Because Americans need more and more food recently.
D. Because foreign food is of higher quality than native food.
3. Consumers are more concerned about where foods came from because ______.
A. they are curious about the country of the food origin
B. they are particular about the tastes of the food
C. they are concerned about food safety and want to get what they want
D. most of the shoppers are food safety activists themselves
4. The new rules of the country-of-origin labeling law will come into effect ______.
A. right now B. in a month C. in three months D. in half a year
5. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. Most Americans prefer imported vegetables to the vegetables grown in local places.
B. The government of America will forbid importing peppers from Mexico.
C. The law was not fully carried out until last week because of food industry’s resistance.
D. Store owners are most likely to be the supporters of the law.
People are talking about the “new economy.” It’s very different from the “old economy”.
In the old economy, people travel to walk. They buy things in stores. They use the post office, the fax and the telephone to send information. They see people face-to-face at their jobs or in stores. People get information from newspapers, radio, television, books and libraries.
In the new economy, people do business through the “net,” which is a connection of millions of computers everywhere in the world. In the new economy, workers often work at home. They can get information online. They can communicate with employers and co-workers by e-mail. Businesses have “virtual stores”. They are websites on which customers can see the products. Businesses can sell to customers anywhere in the world.
In the new economy, people live a fast paced, convenient and colorful life. The whole world develops more quickly than before. But the new economy is a double-edge sword. Its disadvantage is also obvious. For example, the Internet has led to a huge increase in credit card cheating. Some illegal websites offer some cheap or banned goods or services. Online shoppers who enter their credit card information may never receive the goods they want to buy and their card information could even be for sale in an illegal website. So people in the new economy should be smarter and knowledgeable.The cause of the differences between the new economy and the old economy is ____.
A.the change of people’s idea | B.the business people do |
C.the use of the Internet | D.the change of people’s life |
In the old economy, people can do the following things EXCEPT____.
A.getting information from books |
B.communicating with friends by telephone |
C.meeting people face to face |
D.shopping online |
“But the new economy is a double-edge sword ” in the last passage means_____.
A.The new economy is as sharp as a sword |
B.The new economy has advantages and disadvantages |
C.The new economy is better than the old economy |
D.Both the new economy and the old economy have disadvantages |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.People can get all kinds of information on the Internet. |
B.Telephone, radio, television, newspapers and so on will disappear in the new economy. |
C.People in the new economy should have high quality. |
D.Life in the new economy is more comfortable than the one in the old economy. |
About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York, I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in wheelchair.
As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was seated on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.
As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink(眨眼示意). As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful, largest smile I have ever seen
All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy college student, into her world, a world of smiles, love and warmth.
That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.What was the writer a decade ago?
A.A worker working in a university. |
B.A teacher teaching in a college. |
C.A clerk working in a museum. |
D.A university student who had not yet taken a degree. |
What does the underlined world “handicap” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A.Life difficulty. | B.Troublesome problem. |
C.Failure in work. | D.Physical disability. |
How did the writer probably feel before meeting the disabled girl?
A.She felt full of hope. |
B.She was filled with confidence. |
C.She felt unhappy because of poverty. |
D.She felt life was beautiful. |
Which of the following title suits this passage best?
A.A Disabled Girl. | B.A Disabled Girl’s Smile. |
C.Full of Hope. | D.Full of Confidence. |
Three wishes
A man and his wife were very poor. They kept hoping for new clothes and good food. The man enjoyed eating, and he especially liked cakes. One night an old woman came to their house and told them she would let them have three wishes. They could wish for anything they wanted.
The man had just finished eating a piece of bread for his dinner, but he was still hungry. He said, “I wish I had a big cake!”
Suddenly a cake appeared on his plate.
“You fool!” His wife cried. “You could have wished for a house full of wonderful food, but you wished for a cake. I wish that cake was on the end of your foolish nose! ”
Immediately the cake stuck to the end of his nose.
Then the man and his wife started blaming each other. “It’s your fault!” the man cried. “No, it’s your fault!” she answered. What could they do? The cake was still stuck to the husband’s nose.
“Oh!” the wife cried. “I wish none of this had ever happened!”
Immediately the cake was gone, and the man was saying, “I’m still hungry. How I wish I had some cakes! ”
But of course nothing happened.The man quarreled with his wife because ___.
A.he always enjoyed eating |
B.his wife hoped that he asked for a house |
C.the cake stuck to the end of his nose according to his wife’s wish. |
D.he didn’t want anything except cakes |
The wrong statement of the following is ___.
A.the man made his wishes before dinner |
B.the wife made two wishes, which worked |
C.the wife wanted her husband to wish for more than a big cake |
D.the man wished that the cake were not on his nose |
Why did the old woman not satisfy the man’s wish when he said he was still hungry and wanted some cakes?
A.Because the old lady was angry with them |
B.Because this was the fourth wish. |
C.Because the man had made this wish before. |
D.Because the cake had been gone. |
Make Up Your Mind to Succeed
Kind-hearted parents have unknowingly left their children defenseless against failure. The generation born between 1980 and 2001 grew up playing sports where scores and performance were played down because “everyone’s winner.” And their report cards sounded more positive (正面的) than ever before. As a result, Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, PhD, calls them “the overpraised generation.”
Dweck has been studying how people deal with failure for 40 years. Her research has led her to find out two clearly different mind-sets that have a great effect on how we react to it. Here’s how they work:
A fixed mind-set is grounded in the belief that talent (才能) is genetic – you’re a born artist, point guard, or numbers person. The fixed mind-set believes it’s sure to succeed without much effort and regards failure as personal shame. When things get difficult, it’s quick to blame, lie, and even stay away from future difficulties.
On the other hand, a growth mind-set believes that no talent is entirely heaven-sent and that effort and learning make everything possible. Because the ego (自尊) isn’t on the line as much, the growth mind-set sees failure as a chance rather than shame. When faced with a difficulty, it’s quick to rethink, change and try again. In fact, it enjoys this experience.
We are all born with growth mind-sets. (Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to live in the world.) But parents, teachers, and instructors often push us into fixed mind-sets by encouraging certain actions and misdirecting praise. Dweck’s book, Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success, and online instructional program explain this in depth. But she says there are many little things you can start doing today to make sure that your children, grandchildren and even you are never defeated by failure.What does the author think about the present generation?
A.They don’t do well at school. |
B.They are often misunderstood. |
C.They are eager to win in sports. |
D.They are given too much praise. |
A fixed mind-set person is probably one who ___ .
A.doesn’t want to work hard |
B.cares a lot about personal safety |
C.cannot share his ideas with others |
D.can succeed with the help of teachers |
What does the growth mind-set believe?
A.Admitting failure is shameful. |
B.Talent comes with one’s birth. |
C.Scores should be highly valued. |
D.Getting over difficulties is enjoyable. |
What should parents do for their children based on Dweck’s study?
A.Encourage them to learn from failures. |
B.Prevent them from making mistakes. |
C.Guide them in doing little things. |
D.Help them grow with praise. |
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – One of the world’s most famous fossils (化石) – the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy skeleton (骨骼) unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 – will go on an exhibition tour abroad for the first time in the United States, officials said Tuesday.
Even the Ethiopian public has only seen Lucy twice. The Lucy on exhibition at the Ethiopian National Museum in the capital, Addis Ababa, is a replica while the real remains are usually locked in a secret storeroom. A team from the Museum of National Science in Houston, Texas, spent four years discussing with the Ethiopians for the U.S. tour, which will start in Houston next September.
“Ethiopia’s rich culture of both the past and today, is one of the best kept secrets in the world,” said Joel Bartsch, director of the Houston museum.
The six-year tour will also go to Washington, New York, Denver and Chicago. Officials said six other U.S. cities may be on the tour. But they said plans had not been worked out.
Travelling with Lucy will be 190 other fossils.
Lucy, her name taken from a Beatles song that played in a camp the night of her discovery, is part of the skeleton of what was once a 3-foot-tall ape-man (猿人).The author writes this text mainly to ___ .
A.introduce a few U.S. museums |
B.describe some research work |
C.discuss the value of an ape-man |
D.report a coming event |
What does the words “a replica” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.A painting of the skeleton. |
B.A photograph of Lucy |
C.A copy of the skeleton. |
D.A written record of Lucy. |
How many cities has Lucy’s U.S. tour plan already included?
A.Four. | B.Five. | C.Six. | D.Eleven. |
What was the skeleton named after?
A.An ape-man. | B.A song. | C.A singer. | D.A camp. |